The Pay Gap. It’s where our baffling, often frustrating but always good fun, journey into understanding men and women’s issues begins. It is in many ways, the poster child of gender equality as a whole, and the issue on which so many gender equality advocates cut their teeth and first dip their toes. Its appeal is obvious; a premise that is short, sweet and outrage inducing. “Women are paid less than men!” The familiar slogan I continually hear. And whilst it is true (at the median), to understand the gap better, we must investigate… why? Which women are paid less? What hours do they work? Do women do as much overtime? What jobs and industry sectors are women disproportionately in? Do they work more dangerous jobs? How does this gap intersect with parenthood? These are all good questions, honest and well meaning questions, but ones I rarely hear asked. These questions are not intended to antagonise, they are in fact, essential. As how can we close a gap, if we don’t know what’s causing it? Regardless, the widely misunderstood pay gap continues to be used to advance public policy agendas, to shape discourse, cause outrage and finds itself at the heart of campaigning. So let’s take a closer look at the gap, and the fine print beneath. ~ [1] [2] US Census Bureau Images by Christopher Burns, Adam Nir and Gradienta on Unsplash #genderpaygap #paygap #genderequality

2022-12-09